It’s not manly? Hogwash! In many European countries—Greece, France, and Russia come to mind for starters—men enthusiastically hug each other in greeting and farewell.

Strong people don’t show their emotions? More hogwash! Showing your emotions proves you are strong…strong enough to own your feelings.

You’re afraid of embarrassing the other person? How do you know they’re not standing there just yearning to be embraced? You may be upsetting them more by not hugging them.

You’re concerned that your hug will be misinterpreted? Hug with your upper body tight to the other person but your lower body not. No one who’s sensible will mistake that for a come-on or sexual harrassment.

1. REDUCED BLOOD PRESSURE AND RISK OF HEART DISEASE It’s proven that hugs lead to less stress; after hugging, there is a reduction in your body’s cortisol level. Cortisol is the hormone associated with stress. Less stress equals lower blood pressure, which significantly reduces your risk of heart disease.

2. OXYTOCIN INCREASE Hugs increase oxytocin – the “bonding” hormone. In a study, when couples hugged for 20 seconds, their levels of oxytocin increased. Those in loving relationships had the highest increases.

3. STRENGTHENS SOCIAL BONDS Hugs symbolize trust and compassion. Giving someone a hug has the potential to make them feel more comfortable around you in the future, to trust you more, and to make them feel that you are truly on their side.

4. IMPROVES MENTAL HEALTH Hugging, like therapy or yoga, can help clear your mind and make you happier. But, what’s more, is it can even strengthen your mind long-term. Hugging and touch has been shown to reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, such as restlessness, pacing, vocalization, searching and tapping.

5. HUMAN TOUCH IS IRREPLACEABLE In the same way a massage can deliver the healing, happy benefits of human touch, a hug can really do a body good.

You give your kids vitamins to boost their immune systems, but do you give them hugs to boost their self-worth and self-esteem? What about the other people in your family? Do you share hugs with your spouse, your sisters and brothers, your parents? How about your friends? Do you show all these people how important they are to you? Do you demonstrate the warmth you feel for them by hugging them? Hugs are as important as vitamins. Dole them out freely. You can never overdose on hugs!

You take your kids for their booster shots at the doctor’s, immunizing them against nasty germs, but do you hug them often to immunize them against feeling alone?

You feed your family healthy food (or earn money so that your spouse can feed them healthy food). You know that vitamins and minerals and proteins are important. But do you see to it that your family gets an ample quantity of hugs? Do you see to it that they feel appreciated, cared-for and cared-about, and loved? Do you realize how far a hug can go in ensuring these important feelings?

It’s not just kids who need hugs, and it’s not just women. Everybody needs hugs, and everybody can share them around.

When the pressure goes up, when your outlook is cloudy, when it’s raining on your prospects, when your relationship turns icy, when you’re in a fog…what do you need? You need a hug. Hugs have cured almost as many ills as chicken soup!

And when someone else is in a bad place in their head or in their life, they need a hug too. But do you respond, or do you leave it for someone else to do the hugging? If we all leave it for someone else, who’s going to hug that person?

We can cure so many of the world’s ills with just a simple hug.

Did I say “simple”? A hug is actually quite complex. Just look at all it can do. It can convey a plethora of messages: “You’re loved.” “I’m here for you.” “I’m sorry about what you’re going through.” “Here’s a little encouragement to get you through a down day.” “You’re important to me.” “You’re special to me.” “I’m happy for you!” “Great news—thanks for sharing!”

Hugs get people through sad times and boost their joy factor even higher when they’re already “up.” Hugs help lonely people feel less lonely and sorrowing people feel less sorrowful. Hugs bolster courage at times of challenge. Hugs convey so many different messages and accomplish so many different things.

Good mood, bad mood, happy mood sad mood, puzzled or bedeviled, lonely or worried, a hug conveys so much to another person with just a simple but heartfelt gesture.

There’s a lot in the news lately about global warming—is it real, or is it hype; is it human-made, or is it simply Nature’s cycles? Whatever a person’s position is on the subject, though, everyone agrees that global warming is bad.

But there’s another kind of “global warming” that’s good. I’m talking about the warmth that spreads from one person to another when he or she hugs someone. Ahhhh…that’ll warm even the coldest-hearted person and cheer up anyone who’s down in the dumps.

A hug can say so much…and do so much. A hug can say, “I love you,” or “I care how you feel,” or “I’m on your side,” or “I’ll help you get through this,” or “I’m your friend,” or “I really appreciate you,” or “Do you know how much you mean to me?” or simply “Great to see you again!” And a hug can let someone know they’re loved, or cared about, or appreciated, or sympathized with, or simply that someone is glad to see them.

Those types of messages would warm anyone’s heart and brighten anyone’s outlook. And spreading that kind of global warming is a good thing. So let’s start a tidal wave of warmth—warmth from hugs—spreading around the world.